I've carried my Smith and Wesson 442 for years now.

I've carried the most excellent Federal Nyclad 38 Special in it. That round it now appears to be discontinued from Federal.

So, my question is, is there a consensus on what is the best defensive round to fire from a 2 inch snubnose revolver? Something with quick burning powder I assume?

I would take a look at the 135 grain HP Gold Dots offered by Speer. They are designed for short barreled .38's.....

This

+1

Well, excellent! I will take a look at this round.  Thanks

This.

Personally, I am fond of the the old "Treasury Load"; 158gr.SWCHP+P

Me too

I came here to suggest this, as well.



 

Speer Gold Dot 135 grain +P is the proper designation of the NYPD loading.  It works.

They are what I carry in my 442

135gr gold dot or 110 gr Barnes.  If either is not manageable, 148gr wadcutter

Mine's loaded with 158g +P LSWCHP

Yep

158+P SWCHP is hard to beat. If you want jacketed go with the 135 gold dots.

135gr GD or 110 DPX.  Chicago load is unreliable in 2".

Buffalo Bore 150gr. hard-cast full wadcutter. Cuts a serious wound channel, penetrates deeply, and isn't velocity dependent like a JHP.

It didn't do well in my testing. Buffalo Bore 158 gr +P LSWCHP did much better.

There isn't enough velocity generated out of a < 2" barrel for the 155 SWCHP to expand.   It just becomes a FMJ.  If you want expansion you need something specifically designed for a shot barrel like the 135 gr Gold Dot.

You sure about that?

THIS

From every test I've seen, which was enough for me. YMMV

I just posted three tests that are not consistent with that position. Even ATK's own site shows mediocre expansion for the short bbl Gold Dot in IWBA heavy clothing.

Can you link the test?   How much expansion did you get with the 158 grn SWC?

125 and 135 gr Gold Dot test

Speer Gold Dot 125 gr +P and 135 gr +P are fired from a 2" S&W 638 through four layers of denim into calibrated 10% gelatin.

BB calibration: 607 fps, 3.4"

135 gr
Impact velocity:  783 fps
Penetration: 13.8"
Retained weight: 133.8 gr

125 gr
Impact velocity: 752 fps
Penetration: 16.5"
Retained weight: 124.4 gr

No expansion in either
case.




135 gr short barrel redo

I did a previous test with Speer .38 spl +P 135 gr Gold Dot Part no. 53921 from my S&W 638 and it had less than stellar results. This more detailed test confirms the results of the earlier test.

This load is supposed to be one of the few recommended loads for a short barreled .38 revolver and it did not perform as expected. I thought it might have something to do with the colder temperatures the day we did the testing so I redid the test. I left the revolver and ammo in the refrigerator overnight and kept it in the cooler on the way out, then fired a couple shots with it cold and one with it warm. I also fired a shot from a 4" GP-100. All shots were through four layers of denim and impact velocities are noted.


BB calibration: 608.4 fps, 3.5"
                     589.5 fps, 3.25"


Cold ammo/638:

Impact velocity: 801 fps
Retained weight: 134.7 gr
Penetration: 16.7"
No expansion

Impact velocity: 811 fps
Retained weight: 135.8 gr
Penetration: 15.5"
No expansion

Warm ammo/638:

Impact velocity: 880 fps
Retained weight:133.2 gr
Penetration: 12.1"
Max expansion: 0.532"
Min expansion: 0.388"

Warm ammo/GP-100:

Impact velocity: 1,071 fps
Retained weight: 134.2 gr
Penetration:14.3"
Max expansion: 0.543"
Min expansion: 0.508"





Buffalo Bore 158 gr +P LSWCHP test

Buffalo Bore 158 gr LSWCHP gas checked fired from a 2" berrel S&W 638  through four layers of denim into calibrated 10% gelatin.

BB calibration: 586.8 fps, 3.4"

Impact velocity: 960.4 fps
Penetration: 12.1"
Retained weight: 159.6 gr
Max expansion: 0.695"
Min expansion: 0.599"

I kept the revolver and ammo in a Ziploc baggie submerged in ice water on the trip out to make sure the powder was at a pretty low temperature because of my results with Speer 135 gr +P Gold Dot.





Doc Roberts was involved in the discussion over at Pistol Forum when I posted these tests and he mentioned that almost no JHP performs well from a 2" barrel. 110 gr DPX (which I haven't tested yet) and 135 gr Gold Dot performed best but he agreed that the Gold Dot was marginal when fired through IWBA heavy clothing. It is probably a good choice for most circumstances, but in my completely inexpert opinion, the BB 158 gr would be better.

/\ /\ /\ The guys on that forum seem to like 148gr WC for short barrel 38s.

I carry the 125 gr Golden Sabers.

Are they "the best?"  I doubt it, but they were easy to find and not very expensive.  

Found this u-tube video review:

No.

But to add another data point-
I have the Cor-bon +p 110gr DPX in my 642 Pro.
Would feel equally comfortable with the 135gr +p GDHP, and only marginally less so with a +p 158gr LSWC-HP load.

Same.

Remington has also begun marking the Golden Saber line as Remington Ultimate Defense. Same bullet, different packaging, 5 rds less per box (20 instead of 25 in the GS) and costs a little more.

My wife has and Off Duty with Federal Nyclad 38 Special in it.
If I could not get Nyclads then in a two inch barrel. I like 158gr leaded WC!

But that is just me!

PITA45

Edited: Called Federal Premium Ammunition 800-379-1732
(they all so have a e-mail page too) They said that the Federal Nyclad 38spl
was still being manufactured. Told them I have not seen it any where.
The ammo market has come back, But this specialty ammo may need to be
order specially from your gun shop.
They did not say, but my guess it should be about a dollar a round. If we are lucky!

That's the beauty of the SWC bullet, if you don't get expansion the wadcutter shoulder gives good cutting action through soft tissue.